Science!

My lunch break brings me the most interesting television programming.  I work with such a diverse group of people, one never knows what one will find on the TV in the break room.  I've seen reruns of I Love Lucy, Family Matters, and Rosanne.  I've watched CNN and begrudgingly, Fox News. My recent favorite is to find infomercials playing.

However, above all, there is The Food Network.  TFN has programming until late in the night--perfect for us night owls at the hospital.

I walked in the other day to find a rerun of "Chopped," the game show where chefs battle each other, and "weird" ingredients, to win money.

Initially I was not a fan.  I despise "reality" shows, and they have no real draw for me.  I'd rather see a regular drama than a reality show with the same plot lines under the pretense of being unscripted.  Call me a snob, but whatever happened to the "three-camera-angle-and-canned-laughter" TV show?  Can't it still work? (Note: according to fans of "The Big Bang Theory," yes it could; Watchers of "Whitney" would probably say no. BURN)

Despite my vitriol for reality TV, I feel as though "Chopped" is growing on me.  I haven't sought it out on the DVR or anything, but if at a friend or family's house, I may partake without a problem.

What exactly brought about this internal switcher-oo?  For me, these shows do well because of the layers they present.  The competition appeals to our more animalistic nature while the intrigue (the creative ingredients and choice of pairings) appeals to our more intellectual nature.   

Similarly, the show challenges the chefs to really know how to cook, or at the very least the science behind what they actually do cook on a daily basis.  How would one prepare pork rinds for a dessert?  What about beef tongue?  If you know a given ingredient, that's fine, but what if you don't?  One would have to have at least a base understanding of a given ingredient's food group and scientific make-up to know how it would cook and take form.  It's not just cooking, it's science, and entertaining at that.

The idea of  "hacking" regular and well-known dishes using bizarre and fun ingredients isn't nouveau, but Chopped seems to reheat it and serve it like it were fresh (hey, I had to stick a cooking pun in there somewhere).

I don't know why I wasn't watching this show in the first place, come to think about it.  I am always looking for recipes, and always looking for hacks to those same recipes.  The few days before grocery day can be my most blissful--I love figuring out how I can make something with only the items found in my pantry or fridge.

I may have to keep my eye on the show, if only for further inspiration.  Or, for the very least, entertainment.

"That's It. I'm Cooking a Chicken."

Monday I was once again uninspired.  The lethal combination of listlessness and preoccupation with other housework usually means one thing.  No dinner cooked on Monday or Tuesday night!

What to do?  I can't leave J out in the culinary cold for that long (he survived, however). 

At work I decided, "Screw it.  I'm cooking a chicken."

The Ressurection of Beef Stew?

As the days get cooler and with the week of winter approaching (because in Houston, that's about all you get), my heart still goes back to beef stew. 

My recent attempt was a decided flop.  I put too much in the slow-cooker, overcooked it, and from what I could tell, while the smell was good, the taste was not.  What was I missing?

A quick online search and research lead me to Chowhound, a part of CHOW.com, one of my favorites to visit.  Link is here. It's the typical "ask a question and readers respond" set-up, but this time with a question that I actually want to know the answer to.

To save you to have to read (TL:DR), I'm posting the suggestion that seemed to help me the most: 

[I agree with] the searing and browning...don't crowd the pan when you sear. Then you're steaming instead of searing. Sear your meat in batches if need be.

Begin with a few slices of chopped bacon, if you like. Use concentrated beef stock. Don't use bouillion cubes. Use full-bodied, inexpensive red wine.
Adequate salt and freshly cracked pepper (slightly less salt if using canned stock with lots of sodium)
Don't use a crock-pot or slow cooker -- the heat isn't hot enough so it won't concentrate the liquids and flavors or form the Maillard reactions on the beef that increase flavor. This is the same reaction that creates flavor when you brown beef.
Braise instead, in the oven for two hours at 350 degrees. Liquid should come up not quite to the top of the meat. Use a snug-fitting lid...All these factors build intensity and develop layers of flavor. Since my sense is that you want the classic rich taste of beef stew, with a great gravy, I don't believe in muddying the classic flavors by adding spices like paprika, smoked paprika, bay leaf, or curry. I don't add tomatoes either, though a tablespoon of tomato paste would be fine.

So there we have it! My first move, which was to throw it in a slow cooker, was the wrong one to begin with.  Although, it looks as though this commenter was a little passive-aggressive--first they gave tips on using a slow cooker and then said to throw out the idea and move to the oven!

It appears as though I need to change my game a bit.  If I want beef stew, I ought to just do it in the oven/stove top.  And if I want a slow cooker recipe, best to look elsewhere.  Problem solved?

Not quite.  I work three nights this week...what shall I make in the slow cooker, and when will I have time to make a full-on beef stew? 

The internet--the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems...since 1991!

Steak and Carbonara, or, Clogged Arteries Ahoy!

Oh, Red Meat.  How I've run from you for so long.  Truly, I haven't had a steak in about a year or more.

Just not a fan of the stuff, to be quite honest.  I've had great steaks in my life, but never to the point of wanting them weekly or even monthly.  I even had a "vegetarian" phase that probably ended in the earlier part of 2011. 

Initially going veggie in 2010 wasn't hard.  I didn't and still don't crave meat on a daily basis, and the thought of going on the Adkins diet makes me a little nauseated.  I eventually caved to the meat-eating world because I realized that I didn't hate eating it altogether, nor was it getting me anywhere good health-wise.  Most of all, a decidedly meat-eating boyfriend came along, whom I cooked for on a consistent basis, and it wasn't worth the trouble (or money!) of making two different meals.

The Silent Meal

J and I shared a meal together and neither of us spoke.  We were not mad at each other; on the contrary, we had much to say. The reason we exchanged few words was that the meal was the best I've ever made ("can't talk, eating," as a friend once said to me).

Places I Love: Blog Edition

There are a few blogs I've been reading lately that I can't help but post.  I mean, really, where have I been?!

For starters, there is my friend Heather, over at The Mad Kitchen.  I particularly love her "Trial by Friday" sections and "Tips Tuesdays."  She's not just my friend, she's an amazing writer and empath; her food is instinctual and creative.  I am completely jealous that she lives in Japan and has a whole different world of ingredients and culinary experiences to draw from.

Another is "Eating Our Words," a local blog about the Houston Food Scene, which keeps me in the know and also provides gossip about various going-ons about town.  Houston is a city where people of all cultures meet each other and bond over food, and while I know there are other blogs about Houston, I feel as though "Eating" is the local blog that is most sensitive and aware of this. Runner Up: "Eater, Houston."

A friend and inspiration, Laurel, lives in Waco, attends grad school, and manages to run an interesting blog about her food adventures, "Memoir Munchies."  She discusses food, and life, honestly with a blend of sweetness and wonder.  I read her stuff and think, "I'll get there, someday..."

Finally, there is a blogger out in Oregon that has me in stitches lately, "Cooking for Assholes." Very clearly NSFW, this is as frank and honest as an episode of Rosanne.  I'll let them speak for themselves:

You suck at cooking. You f*ck up rice. You think Cayenne is that fat b*tch from around the way and Old Bay is the piece of sh*! that keeps calling the cops on you and your boys. Stop being such a f*cking loser and grow a brain. Cooking is easy as sh*!. Learn it.

I'm not sure I could say any better, or more at this point.  Join the next "Places I Love," where I talk about El Bolillo, a straight-up Mexican Bakery of the gods. 

"Sweet Endings Part Two," or "Bread today, Gone Tomorrow"

Finally! Good Hair! I found my usual stylist, groveled and begged, and got a better haircut.

I'm no Eva Longoria, but this is the best celebrity-depiction I could find:

It's shorter than Eva's, parted a little less deeply as well, but truth told it was the best way to salvage the bad haircut.

That, and banana bread.  I became inspired by America's Test Kitchen and their "ultimate banana bread," as it was a new way to make something I've always made (truly, other than a from-scratch cake, it was one of the first things I can remember baking).

"Sweet Endings Part One," Or, "How Bad Haircuts Make Good Banana Bread"

Do you remember those days as a kid when you skinned your knee or hurt yourself, or made "straight A's," and you got something for it, like, say, dessert?

Let me rewind. I got a terrible haircut the other day.  I found a salon while driving to the grocery store, thinking, "this place will be great!" It was a hole-in-the-wall type that looked well established and frequented.  I walked in and the two women who were the only occupants of the shop made me wait for twenty minutes.  No one else was getting their haircut.
 
At this point, I should have seen this as a huge red flag (get out of there!).  However, the last time I randomly walked into a salon and asked for what I wanted, I was in California for a friend's wedding and they did a fabulous job.  

This was not to be one of those "happy random occurrences."  I was given short bangs I didn't ask for, which I couldn't stop until it was too late.  She gave me layers that probably weren't good for my hair type and face shape, and gave me "the Rachel" with short bangs.

Imagine THIS with bangs. HORRIFYING.

Appalled yet? I certainly was.  I won't go into much more detail as this is a blog about food and not my recklessness outside of the kitchen, but suffice to say that while they did not wash my hair at first (spritzed it wet!), when I asked for a blow-dry (I had to ask!), they responded by asking me if my hair was clean, stating, "maybe we should wash it first."  At that point, I wanted them to pay me for such a disaster.  (I am also not sure how much malice was put into those scissors.  From the moment I walked in to the moment I walked out, the lady seemed to loathe me.  Examples: twenty-minute wait in a deserted shop, not wanting to wash or blow-dry my hair, etc.)

My first instinct was to call my regular stylist and beg for forgiveness and to see if she could squeeze me in to try and salvage the mullet/rachel mess I had gotten myself into.

My second instinct was to make banana bread.  Call it a throw-back to childhood, but I just wanted to soothe it with the salve of baked goods.

My recent inspirations have been Alton Brown (I've been yearning to make these), and America's Test Kitchen. The former for all the hubbub on twitter with AB's "fanifesto" and some Houstonian calling him a "tool," and the latter because I'm mildly infatuated with ATK as I've written about before, and their banana bread recipe looks to-die-for.

That's all I have for now, as I have work tonight and a date with my stylist tomorrow afternoon.
 
Join me this weekend for "part two" in which I actually make these sweet treats, and (hopefully) have a better haircut, and outlook, on life.

Refrigerator Inspiration, or, "Whole Lotta Tex-Mex Goin' On"

Periodically, I draw upon J for inspiration and ideas for meals.  He has to eat the stuff, too, so I figure why not get his input.

This week he suggested enchiladas.  No problem; I was wanting to use items I already had laying around as it was, so win/win/win (10pts for the reference!).

I had a perfectly-good-never-opened pack of wheat tortillas (blasphemy to some, delicious to the rest of us), a ton of shredded cheese that would go bad in a week, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that were also destined for the "great-white-bag" in the sky.  Even better, I figured it would be a great way to use the last of the garlic chicken (from, "1000 Splendid Bulbs") in a creative way that wasn't just reheat-nation.

1000 Splendid Bulbs: Garlic Chicken

I had been meaning to make this slow-cooked meal all week.  Thursday I forgot, Friday I was off (and we were busy), and Saturday my family had me over for dinner.

Sunday then became "the battle of the bulb." 

Breakfast On The Cheap

I came home from work this morning, only to realize/remember that there appears to be nothing to make for breakfast.

I've always been a cereal girl, but we're out of milk.  There are no eggs to scramble or to make french toast, and I made waffles for dinner last night on my way out the door.

What to do?  Payday is tomorrow, and hence grocery shopping day.

Undaunted, I rooted around in the pantry to find something to whip together.

Who else did I find, but an old friend--it was Oatmeal to the rescue!

I'm a bit old-school and like the oats to be in a can or bag (See Bob's Red Mill), and I like to cook it over the stove.

After cooking/during cooling on the stove, I add raisins, a dash of brown sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon.

I plate it, add cream and whatever I have handy (mixed nuts in this case) and a drizzle of syrup.

It was perfect on this cool/rainy morning.

Three cheers for captain oatmeal!

 

Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork





In keeping with my slow-cooking kick, I decided to make pulled pork Wednesday morning. I would post the recipe but after an exhaustive search, Whole Foods has since taken it down.  Alas. If I can find it, I will repost in an edit later on.

The title of the blog was self-fulfilling prophecy that fateful morning, as I began to literally bleed, sweat, and cry through the prep process.

This Baker's Challenge: Fruity Desserts!

 As mentioned in previous posts, I am a lover--and baker--of all things desserts.  I can remember baking my first "from scratch" cake at the age of 9, the first time I was allowed to use the stove and everything all by myself.  It's a good story: when I asked my mother for an "Easy Bake Oven," she promptly got to work showing me how to use the big oven we had in the kitchen.  I am grateful for this, for many reasons, mostly the fact that it started me on a path that led me here.  Also,  have you ever had anything cooked in an easy-bake oven? (Edit: I just heard that the Easy Bake Oven got a face-lift, a structural redesign and a new marketing ploy...so really I'm talking the "lets half-cook with a light bulb" Easy Bake Ovens of the last 50 years).

Tapatio, "It's a sauce...that's very saucy!"

About two years ago I found myself eating breakfast in Huntington Beach, California.

My hosts had just finished cooking eggs, and asked, "would you like some Tapatio with that?"

Puzzled, I inquired to what the heck it was.

"Only the best hot sauce known to mankind.  Try some!"

Out came a 1.5L bottle of the stuff, and following that, my introduction to a whole new sauce world.

Empanadas! (Alt title: Neighbor, can I borrow a cup of tequila?)

I began the morning uninspired.

A delicious cookout last night led me to have a serious meat hangover.  I went to bed at 9pm and woke up 12 hours later.  I was refreshed, but lacking creativity.

"What do I make for dinner?!"  The last thing I'd ever thought I'd be saying.

A few quick google searches later, I came across a suggestion for empanadas.  Then I remembered this recipe (video is middle page, I love the explanation!) over at America's Test Kitchen, and felt the creativity flowing back.

In Celebration of the Weather: Beef Stew.

August brought Houstonians stretches of days where the temperature outside wasn't below three digits.  There was no breeze.  There was no rain.  We were asked to conserve water. We were asked to keep our indoor thermostats as high as we could.  Our sweat had sweat. IT. WAS. HOT.

And September rolled in like an angry British bouncer, breaking up the hot weather whilst screaming: "OL RITE, WHAT'S OL DIS DEN?"
And we got a breeze, and wonderful weather, and just like that everyone (in Houston) was happy again.
(The breeze and hot weather has not been kind to Central Texas, however. The fires have been brutal to say the least, and my heart goes out to all of those out there that are suffering--businesses, families, livestock and pets.)

This lovely weather has made me yearn for Fall--and what a better meal to celebrate Fall anticipation than a Beef Stew!

Places I Love: Melange Creperie

Due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, I was not able to make beef stew in the slow cooker (car troubles, allergies, you name it, it happened).

However, all was not lost.  I began the day with a visit to a wonderland of crepes and happiness on the corner of Westheimer and Taft. A place that I decided to highlight in order to kick off my whimsical new segment, "Places I Love."

I present: Melange Creperie**!  A story of a man, his crepe cart, and a boat load of charm.

Bandwagoning, in the good way?

My new found friends over at Cafe Luz Houston alerted me on twitter of the "Hipster Barista" meme, and how it all centers around one dude, and this controversy.

My first response: "I've got to blog this. I'M FIRED UP!"

When I read a little deeper, I couldn't find where they out and out call this man a "douche" (perhaps it's been taken down), but I did find a long comment list of the classic flame wars on the internet.

Jerk Chicken, Slow-Cooker Style.

I work nights as a nurse, mostly as a necessity.  That being said, when the "chore wheel" came out, and after a bit of logical deducing, I became the person responsible for making food at the house (the boyfriend, J, does the dishes, and I cook.  It's a good system).

My solution? Slow-cooking, and lots of it.  I'm always on the hunt for interesting and non-stew type dishes to make.  You'd be surprised how many variations there are on the same three slow cooker recipes. 

Food Truck of the Month: Good Dog Hot Dogs

Yes, I have jumped on the Food Truck bandwagon, and No, I don't care what people think--I for one welcome our food truck overlords.

That being said, I'd like this to be a recurring spot here at R.Abandon, and what better way to start us off than with Hot Dogs, non?

New Hotness

Well, another year, another failed blog. My sushi challenge stopped somewhere in between "wow sushi is expensive" and "neato, I have a boyfriend!" I decided to leave old postings around for my own rememberance of things past (especially failures), and to show you where I've been.

I woke up last week and realized, finally, that I loved food. Really, it was more of final acceptance. I realized that I loved not just sushi, but all things edible. Combine that with the fact that I recently moved in with my boyfriend about two months ago, I have had a need to cook. Money, time, etc.

Yes, me. Cooking.

Let me explain: I've always baked, and felt comfortable in that world. You name it, I've either tried to bake it or been wise enough not to try (I'm looking your way, patachou).

But Cooking?! What strange new world, with such ingredients in it!
I've no real experience cooking. I've never been a server (lest you count that brief stint with catering in college), and I've only ever darkend the doorstep of one or two cooking classes in my brief lifetime.

The only thing I have under my belt (har har) thus far is necessity. And as they say, necessity is the mother of digestion.

Or was that convection?

No. Conviction. That's it. Time to serve up some big heeping bowls of the stuff--No longer is it about "cute" challenges or "money spent" anymore, but rather the love, and necessity, of the food itself. Flavors mingling as the ingredients form together and the science behind it all. Join me, won't you?